bleudauvergne

Leave it to French Saveurs to publish a recipe where the first ingredient is 4 deboned duck necks Since they cost 70 cents a kilo at the volailler I think there's no harm in attempting this recipe, which I will post here if I can get past this one hurdle of how is the proper or best way to bone a duck neck. Does anyone have any tips? Does this mean I just slip the entire fleshy part out from the skin and use the skin or do I open it out and is there a way to approach this to preserve some meat all around? The recipe is for Cous de canard farcis au risotto de roquette. You make a stuffing from a prepared risotto and meat from cuisses confit, then slowly braise. I use duck necks weekly for bouillon, but have never tried to bone one... Is this just typical French Saveurs silliness or can I debone a duck neck?

I keep magrets in the freezer and just thawed one out which I plan to cook for dinner. But I'm tired of the same old skin side searing with whatever sauce. I want something different. Does anyone have any ideas about other ways to use the marget de canard in cooking? I'm considering grinding it... Any ideas?

Just a note to mention that the Jerusalem artichoke is not acually an artichoke. It's a root vegetable called the topinambour in France, commonly called the jerusalem artichoke or sunchoke because of its flavor, which resembles arichokes. Photo of the topinambour

I don't want to be completely negative here, but I'm a bit freaked out so I'm going to throw this in the mix. I stopped in a neighborhood Picard last week and picked up a couple of prepared dishes in addition to some basic beans and peas. When I got home, I was looking at the ingredient list and they are simply loaded with added starches and sugars. Yuk. Since we'd already bought it I heated up the lentils with lardons and it was just like the real thing except there was a thickened sauce as sweet as syrup. In my opinion not edible but my husband said he would eat it, because he doesn't like to see things go to waste. It looked really nice, would've made a nice picture, the sauce was thick and smooth and glistened in the sun, and it was indeed instant pretty food, but... Really, I don't understand the reasons for the sugars. Can't they just prepare a dish and freeze it? Even the soup contains added dextrose and starch based emulsifiers. Since we barely ever eat anything sweetened like this, the taste was really noticable. It's got me thinking about Picard's marketing strategies, their catalog with Saveur-like styled photos to make the customer think they're getting gourmet level quality, their descriptions and choice of prepared menus targeted at a rather sophisticated palate, or at least someone who would like to think they're eating good food. Clearly the consumer is a visually oriented one, the appeal being the appearance of the product. They are trying to appeal to the people who want more. Then they pump it full of sugar and starch and artificial flavors like any premier prix product. Why? We can't say it's for shelf life, we can't say it's for flavor, no way. Anybody who's prepared a petit salé at home would reject this. It's for how the product looks, really. But if it looks good but tastes like sugary crap, what's the point? Do they think we can't tell the difference?

The great thing about puff pastry is the fact that you can fold and roll just about anything into it. Another great thing about it is that it freezes really well. You can just get in the habit of rolling up leftover this and that into it and making a roll, slicing the roll, and freezing these so that when it's time to have a party, you have an assortment of all kinds of things on hand. I always take leftover meat and sauteed veggies, spices, sauces, tapenades, cheeses like emmenthal and parmesean and make these rolls to freeze, uncooked. When guests arrive, pop the frozen rolls in the oven an serve them hot 10 minutes later with drinks. Leftover chicken goes really well with creme fraiche, garlic, and creole spices. Thin sliced ham or good quality cold cuts, mustard and cheese. Tapenade, herbs, and crushed nuts. Sage pesto and thin sliced salt cured country ham. etc.

I simply adore this trip report, Arne! It's gorgeous! What a great way to break up the trip. Train travel is certainly an excellent way to get around. You had a question about wine on the train. It's certainly fine to open up your wine on board, and being in First Class just gives you more room to enjoy it. I suspect the person who rolled their eyes was jelous. Really. That you were out on the open countryside, on vacation, happy, enjoying the wine, the food... You didn't have to rub it in! Yes, I'm sure the eye roller must have had some problems of his own. You broke no rules written or otherwise. Second, about the Americano/Negroni. This is something interesting. Because several years ago I discovered this drink and the drink name was also mixed up. I think it may be a French thing. On your €50 cheese order - did the fromager give you more than you wanted, i.e. you told him you wanted some of this and he lopped off a big wedge and wrapped it up? This issue is worth some discussion. Next time you come to France, please be sure to work in a visit to Lyon, Arne!

In Lyon on the presqu'ile, the Emile Henry boutique has a kitchen above the shop where they invite visiting chefs to give cooking classes. The other day I participated in one class and we cooked for the afternoon, for the price of €65. These classes are held in French, and the participants are generally experienced home cooks. I think that if you spoke no French, you might miss some discussion but you could easily follow the activity by doing what the chef does. The atmosphere is friendly and is limited to 7 students. The class does include a chance to sit down and eat the meal prepared on site, you choose your color of Emile Henry gratin dish and take your portion home with you. Sign up in advance by calling the shop. Emile Henry 18 r Brest 69002 Lyon 04 78 37 33 43

When your non-english speaking relatives cry out "food photo!" in mocking just before "bon appetit!" when you are seated at a festive family gathering.

More info on clases in Lyon: Here is a link to the a la carte courses offered this year at the Institut Paul Bocuse. The institute is at a chateau in neighboring Ecully, a cute little town 15 minutes by bus from centre ville Lyon. They also have 6 week and 12 week intensive programs, starting this year in April, price, around €3500 for the 6 week initiation course. For something less expensive, a young graduate from the 3 year Arts Culinaire and Management program at Paul Bocuse has teamed up with a business schoolmate to create Comme des Chefs, the concept being to take absolute beginners and cook to take home. They explain that these courses are meant to help people overcome people's fear of cooking. I spoke to the owners yesterday and they would be willing to organize special classes for groups of people like us, i.e. classes designed with more technique or a more intensive introduction to French cooking. 3 steps from restaurant Gourmet de seze and around the corner from Bernachon if you wanted to make a day of it.

I have used a ramekin to catch flies in a zenlike manner and then let them go outside. Contrary to Brooks' method of insect removal. I confess I am a scissors abuser. I have been known to use the scissors to debone a fish, cut filo dough into fancy shapes, cut a chimney in a tourte or clip the tops of yeast rolls, cut bacon into little pieces for tartelettes, mince herbs, trim cabbage leaves, remove bay leaves from the bunch hanging by the stove, cut open dried mexican chile peppers to remove the seeds, get that icky tendon, and loosen chicken skin from the bird. I then use the same scissors to cut articles from magazines, cut paper, cut fabric, and even cardboard for various projects around the house. All scissors reside in the kitchen. I abuse them daily.

Some of Picard's stuff is alright. I like some of the potages, they come in handy when I can't cook. Some of the basic veggies like plain green beans are alright and good for a quick fix in mid winter when the only thing at the market are potatoes leeks and endives. The wild mushroom mix comes in handy now and again to spice up a beef braise. The escargots in their shells are a nice mid week diversion. I went through a period when I was unable to cook and tried out a bunch of Picards stuff. I don't like any of the stuffed game birds or the stuffed boar, and the argentinian beef is not up to par for the price. Unfortunately I haven't found a single Picard prepared dish that I felt was worth the money (I haven't tried the moussaka, though!). What I like though is that at Picard you can get good quality single ingredients like various kinds of fish and fruits de mer, sorrel in mid-winter, etc. These are nice to keep on hand for emergencies and the quality is good.

So, were you able to convince them to let you take it off their hands?

January 1 2008 is a long way away. A lot could happen between now and then. For at least a year we'll see no real difference. This first year might be to get people used to the idea but nothing more. In the press, we are seeing a campaign of human interest stories. There have been a few restaurants that have gone non-smoking voluntarily and these are present in the press at the moment. One restaurant owner in Paris claims to have gone through an initial slump, then once word got around, gained non-smoking customers. They interviewed patrons identifying themselves as smokers, and the message being reinforced is their opinion that they didn't mind not smoking while eating, and going outside if they need to in the establishments that are already non-smoking. The obligatory interview of the restaurant chef who explains that smoking between courses interferes with the ability to fully taste the food. I was asking myself where people can't smoke, if the exceptions to the first year of the ban are: Restaurants, Cafes, Discos, Bar/Tabac. The public libraries already don't allow smoking inside, government buildings are generally already smoke free except the place where the ministers meet in Paris, so I guess not letting the ministers smoke in Paris will be a change... Smoking on the subways is already not allowed, and I suppose train stations will be going non-smoking, unless of course you are standing at a bar or sitting in a cafe in a station. I have never seen anyone smoke in a store, I never even knew it was allowed, so I guess it seems logical to ban smoking there. So where else will smoking be banned? For at least a year, and that is if someone doesn't do something to repeal or modify this law, there will be no change to the smoking in restaurants, cafes, and bars. The bar owners are the ones crying the loudest at the moment, they say that going non-smoking makes them lose all of their clientele. Atmosphereic small town stories on the news featuring a down and out bar owner who says that his business was ruined by going non-smoking are being aired on the news.

Sorry that I was not one of the people who checked in on this thread, Laidback, since your photos were wonderful. That looks like a great meal for €60. I love the pears served in different ways. To me this brings out the many facets of one ingredient. I take it the mignardises were served with coffee? Interesting panel of sugar dusted at the top of the black plate. I think I might try that sometime. What kind of wine did you drink? Thank you for sharing this meal with us, it's lovely.

Warren, that is so nice of you to say. Thank you! I have a link to Lucy's Kitchen Notebook in my signature. You can find it here. Hey, don't forget S'kat's blog Here!

I haven't seen the ads if this is what people are reacting to, but is there any shame in working on the master recipes for a chain? A certain Apprentice comes to mind. Jacques Pepin developed Howard Johnsons recipes. People make career choices for many reasons. Did Tyler Florence show great promise for making a difference in America's state of the kitchen as a Food Network show host? Do you think that in working on the Applebee's account, he is betraying that promise? What about the other people who work at Applebees? No respect for them? This is a step in someone's career. I say wait and see what happens next. Life work can take turns in any direction.

Butter is what happens when we whip the cream too long. Put it in the fridge to enjoy on toast and try again!

I am loving your blog, Hathor. I would definitely love to see the Abbey. But only if you have time. Rooftop dining - it really looks wonderful. That soup looks very good.

Now something you might think about is the fact that when you order the 'menu' you might be getting a whole lot of food, maybe more than you want to be eating. Remember that eating several courses is a recipe for being sleepy after dinner - translation: When you take a girl to Paris for the weekend you want to maintain as much energy as possible after dinner, yes? So choose a good place, but when you go, instead of being tempted to take entree, plat principal, followed by fromage or dessert, with wine, water, and coffee, just order one plat from the carte. For example, I am seriously low on funds at the moment but I really need to get out at lunch to break up my writing day. I really wanted to try this new little bistro that's just been taken over by a chef that spent his formative years in the Bocuse brasseries. So I went there, and instead of taking a menu, I ordered only a plat. In American restaurants, the house special can often cost more than dishes on the menu, meaning it's special, thus more expensive. In France, the plat du jour is going to almost always be cheaper. Eating just one plat really is often enough. I splurged on a glass of house white, ended up taking a house dessert, and the total for my bill was only €12,50. If you want the wine / cheese experience which invariably is neccesary on suprise trips to Paris, buy your wine at a Monoprix one evening and pick out your cheese at one of the many fromageries. Enjoy it with fresh bread either in a beautiful outdoor setting or in your room. For anyone traveling at autumn time, you might add some of the different grape varieties that are offered just about now, since we are in the midst of the harvest for those. The grape varieties all have their unique special flavors. At dinner, you'll see that the plats may be a bit more than €8 or €10 like they are at lunch, but still much less than a menu. Good luck and have fun!

They'll keep. But of course the store bought crusts are no where close to the flavor of a home made crust. No comparison. Sometimes when in a pinch I used to get the puff pastry that comes in a block. But then I discovered that most boulangers will sell you the dough. So if you want really good puff pastry without having to make it yourself, next time you go to Paris, place an order with your boulanger - you can also freeze that.

I'll clarify Dave's terms. When you are using type 55 French flour, 'enough' for one pie crust is around 160 grams of flour. Butter about 70g. salt to taste (I use fleur de sel when making nut pies, you might omit it for a banana cream pie) - mix to corm meal consistency - add to the fat/flour mix: 1 egg yolk 1-2 Tablespoons liquid -- In place of water you can also use chilled poultry or veal stock, or creme fraiche. Duck fat can be mixed with butter to about a 50/50 ratio for a good quiche tart or torte crust. (for using healthier fats ) When I mix my crust I also do it like Dave, except I don't let it ball up. I just give it a blast of about a second after adding the egg yolk and about a tablespoon of liquid, and then I pat it into a ball right quick and put it in the fridge. It's actually very easy by hand if you don't have a moulinex. If I'm preparing a sweet dessert I usually leave out the salt (unless it's a nut pie) and add 1-2 tablespoons of granulated sugar to the flour. I sometimes add brown sugar.

Ahh. Baking and pastry. Actually Felice, when it comes to baking, if I am making anything involving flour here in France, especially something like a pie crust, I look for a recipe that was created using French flour. Even if you do find a facsimile of shortening, you might not be able to get a good result using French flour using the American recipe because French flours and American flours are different due to completely different milling methods. I have found that American crust recipes made with French flour tend to melt and lose shape, for example, a pie crust sliding down the sides and into the bottom of the pie plate. If you increase the amount of flour, according to Julia Child's approximatations found in the annex at the front of her first volume of Mastering the Art, you can still end up with a rather brittle result. If you really are set on using the American recipe, remember that the closest to All Purpose American flour is type 55. But if this pie needs to look good, you might want to consider the flour differences. I would do a search on a basic Pate Brisee or Sablee if you are doing a sweet crust, and use a French recipe. The filling will work no matter where the recipe comes from. But really, the crust is another story.

As for St. Emillion, I suggest that your parents definitely put the cavistes in town on their list - when we were in St. Emillion a couple of years ago we found that chateau visits were time consuming (though beautiful) and there was a lot of pressure to buy directly after the tasting with no comparison. At the cavistes many if not all of the local vignerons are represented, they have multiple side by side tastings. We loved St. Emillion, although we did not have any special meal there.

Good question. Anyone who knows the SW region have recommendations?

My neighbor swears by these wine fairs. It is rarely hit or miss because the tasting has been done for you in advance. Apparently people go and line up outside the doors of the hypermarches with their list of what they plan to buy in advance (based on circulars available in advance), and the stock is virtually eliminated within the first few hours that they run this special sales. It is true, you can get some serious good buys at these fairs.